Umbrella
by Mo.joo
Summary: Struggles have always rained upon our lives. But it is in this life that we become each other's umbrella. "Fists clenched the earth as he tried to hold himself down. The hand on his shoulder squeezed so tightly that Kakashi hoped that the young boy would never let go." Join Kakashi and Naruto as they discover what living truly means. AU Kakanaru.
1. Umbrella

** Umbrella**

**The rain **that poured onto the streets of Konoha came soft and easy. A gentle shower that caressed the trees who harbored the leaves that hid their village, the grey horses that thundered across the sky in their herds, the cold wind that pushed the soft patter back and forth—it seemed as though Kami wanted a sadness to go down on earth. Slow, sweet, bitter.

Like the rain that spread across Hatake Kakashi's face as he looked down at the stone before him. His grey eye skimmed the list of names on the memorial, his nose smelling the wet aroma of death as he pictured the face around each name—what they looked like before they had died—until he found the names that he knew so well, and Kakashi didn't have to imagine. He knew what their faces looked like upon death. He was there to witness it first hand.

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate. The scarred eye opened slowly and dark light swarmed its vision after being hidden in the dark for so long. The Sharingan and Kakashi looked down at the names that they knew so well, and as Kakashi lowered himself, the Sharingan began to weep for its master.

Or at least tried to.

The gentle, slow patter suddenly grew to become loud and restless. The rain struck down on Kakashi's mask, stinging the skin underneath with each harsh drop. It drenched the Copy-nin's hair, plastering it so uncomfortably against his head in a spiking coldness. It washed away the escaping tears that fell from the Sharingan eye, covering the hot salty droplets in a cool wetness.

Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed deeply. His gloved finger reached out to stroke the engraved lines of Obito's name.

He failed as a friend even to this day. He couldn't even let Obito's own tears run down for him.

The fingers moved on to more familiar names.

"Rin, Sensei, Sandaime, Asuma…"

Kakashi wanted to cry, but he didn't; or rather, he couldn't. The years of holding back finally caught up to him. Not once—not even for a _little bit_—did he allow himself to cry in the past. Not when he was with friends, not even when he was alone by himself in that dusty house that belonged to his family. And now, when he wanted to cry the most, his eyes wouldn't let him, the years of restraint too firmly on hold.

_This was his fault. All his fault._

He clutched the knee that was pressed against him. The other kneeling on the sodden grass as he rocked back and forth, trying so desperately to let the Sharingan cry. But the damn rain wouldn't let him. It wouldn't allow him because it was some goddamn unwritten rule that Hatake Kakashi couldn't weep even when the tears weren't his. It shook him to his very core.

_Cold. It was so cold._

Why couldn't he be human like the rest of them? Why couldn't he be allowed to cry and sob like a temperamental spoiled brat? Why couldn't he just let it go?

Above him, the rain stopped hailing.

The Copy-nin sighed and wrapped his arms around himself as his knee finally joined the other in the muddy ground. He opened his tightly screwed eyes, only to have realized that the rain had not stopped. Its shower thundered through his ears in the cold howling wind. Kakashi could still feel the wetness that escaped here and there, splashing onto him, trying to reach him under his shelter. The shinobi raised his head and looked wildly around him. The rain continued, but it was unable to touch him now. The pitter-patter above him crashed wildly as nature's wrath raged on. He looked up.

And the sun shone.

It was bright against the Sharingan eye—bright for even his own eye. Kakashi blinked rapidly for a few short moments before realizing that the brightness was actually blonde hair. It took him several long minutes before realizing that the blonde hair was Naruto.

Naruto only smiled softly at him—that smile so strangely alien on his usually obnoxiously grinning face—as he shifted the umbrella he held more over towards Kakashi.

The umbrella that he held was far from a decent excuse for shelter. It was tattered and worn, obviously a sign of abuse and overuse. The skeletal brackets that held it together hung loosely over the edge dangerously, limp and broken; tape struggled to bind the brackets back together but to no avail. The small holes poked everywhere; occasionally a large tear or hole gaped at one of the flaps. The rain still poured in, but Naruto managed to make it so that the most preserved parts of the umbrella were sheltered over Kakashi.

The older shinobi quickly opened his mouth to speak but quickly snapped his jaw shut when a hand—a hand that he didn't even know was there—squeezed his shoulder tightly. Tightly, as if Naruto was trying to squeeze the tears out of him. Mismatched eyes met soft blue, and Kakashi once again turned his head at the names, his will flittering—he wanted to be in the clouds with them so much…so, so much. Fists clenched the earth as he tried to hold himself down. The hand on his shoulder squeezed so tightly that Kakashi hoped that the young boy would never let go.

And finally—_finally—_the Sharingan and Kakashi let their tears be their own again.

* * *

A/N: Hello! Mo here.

I'd like to say, first and foremost, thank you for reading the first chapter of my "Umbrella" series! To you tell the truth, I had written this some time ago, but today I finally decided that I would share this with you. It's my own take on the Kakanaru pairing. This is one of my most favorite pairings. Possibly the most favorite (I would have to decide between GinIzu from Bleach and this one). Although I have many more chapters I'd like to post, this will be...a test [?] chapter (if that's what you call it...). It will be one of the few that I will be posting tonight. I hope that you'll look forward to reading the rest!

Here are some warnings:

I will most likely post at awkward intervals at times, but please bear with me! I have planned many things for this series.

There is also mention of some OCs, but no CharacterxOC pairings. I feel that these people that I have created will bring more emphasis on the emotions that I'm trying to create so please look forward to them!

There will be OOC sections in many of the characters. Also, the storyline will seem a bit awkward because there is no set plot to the story. However, I assure you, all chapters are connected and are in chronological order.

I MIGHT'VE tweaked some things in the Naruto Universe as I was writing this. I'm not actually sure. Please forgive me if I do. (I do you no justice Kishimoto-san T.T *bows deeply*)

Also...this is yaoi. If you don't like it or are uncomfortable with it, please don't read. I apologize for any discomfort that my words have inflicted upon you, but I did warn you in my bio (if you haven't read it, please do.)

ありがとうございます！Thank you!

Mo

It's already 11:00PM and I STILL haven't done my homework yet...Looks like this person is going to have stay up PRETTY LATE (nuuuu~ my beauty sleep T.T)

Update 02/23/14: Grammar Corrections


	2. Rent

**Rent**

**"And don't even think** about coming back in there without my money!"

Naruto tasted the ground before he even realized it was ground. The hard gravel cut into his chin as he slid face first down the stairs after the landlady grabbed his collar surprisingly easily and pushed him down the stairs. He righted himself immediately, pushed himself off the ground, stubbornly refusing to give in even when his palms stung like crazy.

"C'mon lady!" He cried out to the open the door of the old hag that threw him out with such ease, with no remorse "Just give me a week! I'll have your fucking money by then!"

The wrinkly bag snorted and stomped over to the railing to spit at his feet before throwing the very few possessions that he had left (which included two days worth of clothes, his backpack, some scrolls, and weapons) onto the dirt beside him.

"I won't have brats like you loiter around in my apartment, disturbing my tenants, and not pay me when rent is due. I've had enough of you, prick. Now get out of my sight!" she then stomped over to her door again, slamming the door behind her.

Naruto flinched. The hag was always so bossy, always up in his business; always blaming him for any trouble that went down in the apartment building like his presence was some kind of dark omen for her. She was a bitch, a really fat one. But he still felt himself flinch.

Once the string of curses were muttered at her door and done for, Naruto looked down at the clothes strewn on his foot and sighed, reaching down to pick it up, moving to another spot to swipe his meager belongings from the dirt. He merely stuffed them into his mission backpack, slinging that over his shoulders, and walked down the empty street.

_Okay, now what?_

Slowly, the empty street became an occupied one. Its dirt road let a steady flow of pedestrians fill through. They walked on the sides, leaving a large gap stretching out, for the occasional merchant cart to pull through the dirt road. Naruto merely followed suite.

As he looked at the dim signs passing above him, the young blonde shinobi laid out his options before him.

Naruto read the large symbols of an inn that claimed vacancy. He considered renting a room for him to sleep, just until he could find a temporary place to live in. After all, he was sixteen and perfectly capable of staying in an inn without any suspicion, considering the fact he was also a ninja. But, Naruto grimaced at the memories that surfaced the last time he had tried to get a room in one of the many lone inns near Konoha during one of the solo missions he was assigned to. The innkeeper was a shriveled old man who threw a fit when he saw the sight of the blonde, recognizing him as jinchuuriki. Practically threw him right out the window.

Naruto shook his head, furiously throwing the idea out of his mind, crumpling it up, and tossed it into the street.

He pondered over the possibilities again. There was always one of the Rookie Nine plus Team Gai and Sai who could take him in. After all, one of them had to be bound to spare room for him if he begged well enough. And the blonde was one who could throw a good begging fit when he needed to. Naruto thought deeply and thoroughly, going to through the list of eleven.

The first to come into mind was Kiba. He was a nice enough guy. Not easy to get along with when it came down to him and Naruto—but a nice enough guy. To Naruto, he seemed the easiest to get along with out of the lot of them.

A nose scrunched at the thought of the constant smell of dog that would reek all over his body when he woke up in the morning. The young shinobi had forgotten: the boy and his dog _never _separated.

Naruto merely shrugged to himself. He walked on to the busier side of town. The smell of meat wafted through his nose as he passed by a barbeque restaurant. It led to the thought of Choji, the always flamboyantly eating ninja.

It seemed like a good idea at first. But in the end, Naruto thought with a heavy sigh, he could never stand the constant munching for more than one day.

Naruto could feel his heart sink in dread and hopelessness as he went down the list.

Shikamaru?

The Nara would probably only complain. Troublesome.

Shino?

Damn bugs…

Neji.

The Hyuuga clan always stuck up their noses at the sight of him. Neji, being such a royal pain in the ass, would probably be the very first one. Plus, there was Hinata. Naruto had known of the girl's old crush for six months now, and that was after she had finally given up on him and moved on to date Kiba. Living with Neji also meant living with her and getting a broken nose from the Inuzuka as well as a bite to the ass from Akamaru.

Naruto definitely didn't want that.

So…Lee

God! That guy would probably use him as a punching bag in his sleep! And those ridiculous jumpsuits that he still wore even after all these years…no way was Naruto going to live with that lunatic!

Sasu—

Nope. Nuh-uh. No fucking way. Naruto swore that he would have had to live in the forest, grow a beard, and fucking drink lemons before he would ask Sasuke for room and board. The blonde shuddered to even think of the ludicrous thought.

He pondered over the thought of asking one of the kunoichi before swiping from his mind completely. Ino would completely shut the door on him even before had a chance to say anything. Tenten would probably throw one of her many weapons at him. Sakura—Naruto shuddered at what she would do if he even _did_ mention it.

Hinata?

Didn't he already go over that?

There was only a string of what he called hope as he crossed out the last name he had in that list. That string broke quickly at the sound of a thunderous grumbling originating from the roars of his stomach.

Naruto frowned as he dug into his pocket, scrambling to find what remained of his money. He took out a few wads of yen. The shinobi had gotten rid of Gama-chan long ago since it bore a hole between its legs due to the overuse during a time when heavy coins filled its brim. He had been meaning to get a new one, but just never had the time

He looked down at his hand and found his lips twitching in a soft smile. He didn't have enough money for rent, but there was more than enough for a few bowls of ramen. Naruto looked up and rushed forward to Ichiraku, where he knew he would always be welcomed.


	3. Stay with Me?

**Stay with me?**

**"What's wrong Naruto-kun?"** Ayame leaned over the counter to peer at the blonde shinobi's face that was hung over the brim of his bowl "You've barely even touched your second bowl."

"Nee-chan," he lifted his elbows from the table for the young woman to wipe down "I'm sorta in trouble."

The ramen owner leaned over his workspace of boiling broth and steaming noodles, "What kind of trouble?"

Naruto sighed, lifting a cold noodle and gingerly placed it between his lips before letting a small slurp escape him, and sighed again, "The landlady in my apartment—in my _old_ apartment—threw me out. She won't let me in without rent money."

"Oh, I see. That is pretty troublesome."

"Yeah, so now I don't really have a place to go."

"Who doesn't have a place to go?"

Naruto froze at the presence that breezed beside him, taking its seat on the stool directly on his right. He looked up and met the curious glint from the eye of Kakashi no Sharingan.

"Kakashi-sensei," he returned to the bowl, mumbling.

"Naruto," Kakashi greeted back.

"Ah, Kakashi-san," Ayame bowed "What would you like today?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Nothing for me, Ayame-chan. I was just walking by when I heard a little bird chirping as it was kicked out of its nest."

Naruto grunted and grimaced as he swooped down on a waterfall of noodles.

"So what's this I hear about having no place to go, Naruto?"

The blonde mumbled, "What else? I got kicked out without anywhere to stay. What more is there to it?"

"Hmm," the silver-haired jounin mused "Did you think about asking Iruka? He's always one to welcome you."

"Yeah," said Naruto as he finally finished the last of the broth and set the bowl down for Ayame to pick up, shaking his head when she offered him another bowl "Already thought about it. He's already busy enough with the Academy. Plus, Genma just moved in with him. I'll just be in the way."

Kakashi again 'hmmed' and leaned his elbow against the table, earning a small frown from the ramen shop daughter. His single eye fully concentrated on the blonde.

Naruto placed his hands on his lap, unknowing what more to say when the stare intensified under his skin. He tugged at a stray string from the sleeve of his coat, uneasiness creeping on him like humid heat weighing him down.

"Anyways, I figured I could toughen up and sleep on the streets for one night and tomorrow ask Baa-chan if she knows any other place I can stay."

Kakashi huffed and straightened himself, shifting the mask higher onto his face in old habit "Well, unfortunately for you, the Hokage left for a meeting with the Mizukage in the Land of Water. She won't be back until next week. I highly doubt that you can handle yourself on the streets for one week."

Naruto shrugged, unsure of himself. Kakashi, too, remained quiet.

The silence poured over them like a steady rainfall. It felt heavy on Naruto's tongue, which frustrated him as he was one who loathed the silence and was unable to stay quiet for more than five seconds. Kakashi on the other hand, merely observed the young blonde, slightly amused with a mouth twisted cutely to continue the silence that threw itself back and forth against them.

"I have an idea," the jounin suddenly said, "You can stay with me until Tsunade-hime comes back."

Naruto looked up at Kakashi and blinked. Once; twice; three times before the words finally registered into his brain. His cobalt eyes widened and a small 'o' formed on his lips.

"Eh? Seriously?"

"Yes," the jounin smiled under his mask, letting a small happy crescent form on his eye "Why not?"

"Wow sensei!" he stood and pumped his fist into the air excitedly and cried, "You're the best!" before racing off into the direction he presumed to be Kakashi's house.

"Naruto!" said owner of the house called out after him, "You forgot your things! And you forgot to pay!" he lifted the bag. But the jounin found that Naruto had forgotten the bag as he jumped into the air.

With a sigh of amused defeat, Kakashi grinned and turned to lay the yen into Ayame's hand before sauntering off in the direction Naruto had run. Ayame watched as the last of silver hair disappeared around the corner after the blonde.

"Papa, I have a feeling good things are going to come to Naruto-kun from now on."

* * *

A/N: Hello! Mo here.

I guess I didn't do a good job in explaining why Naruto was looked so down when Kakashi came into scene. I made it so that there was this awkwardness between Naruto and Kakashi (mostly Naruto) because Naruto is on the verge of having these feelings for Kakashi, while Kakashi has always liked Naruto. But enough of about that here. On to the next chapter!


	4. Like

**Like**

**The first time **Naruto realizes that he likes Kakashi is when the jounin steps out of the shower, clad in nothing but a towel.

Naruto realizes, with wide eyes, that he's watching a broken Adonis step out of mist: his pale, scarred skin stretches out over defined abdomens; his body seems to be sculpted out of the stone. Naruto's eyes follow Kakashi's footsteps on their own; they graze over his body one more time before looking up to watch his hands pressing a towel against his face. Naruto finds himself admiring the way the muscles and bones on Kakashi's back dance every time he reaches up to dry his hair and then come back down again to pat his face clear of water.

And when Kakashi turns around to look at Naruto behind his towel clad face, the blonde practically runs the other way he came.

Naruto tells himself: _I just want the muscles that sensei has_

When they sit on the couch together to read, Naruto finds himself peering at silver-haired man as often as he can. He likes the way Kakashi sits comfortably next to him, little orange book in his hand, knees press loosely against his body, and elbow propped on the armrest with his head resting against his fist.

And when Naruto comes to, the heat is already burning his ears.

Kakashi knows that he likes Naruto when he sees the blonde curled up on the couch. The scroll lays forgotten on the floor, his legs tucked under him, and his face is hidden in his arms that rest on the armrest. He chuckles at the small snores that escape from the nest of arms and bright blonde hair.

Naruto always feels warm when Kakashi picks him up. The jounin is surprised by how light the boy is, like his bones are hollow and his muscles are full of air, despite all that ramen. Kakashi can feel his skin prickle as Naruto curls his arms loosely around the pale neck, fingertips feathering against the fine hairs. His heart beats so wildly as a cheek cuddles against his chest, the organ is ready to explode. The older man always fears that Naruto will wake up to the heavy drumming beating on his chest.

When he lays the blonde on his bed, a pout gives out on Naruto's lips and he curls tighter around himself. Kakashi chuckles slightly. He finds it endearing when the boy snuggles his way closer to the older man when he sits at the edge of the bed.

Before Kakashi realizes it, his hand reaches out to brush blonde locks away from the young genin's face. He reminisces the time when Naruto was such a hyperactive, bouncing boy. The chubbiness from Naruto's baby-face is long gone now, replaced with high cheekbones, prominent nose, thin lips. Just like his father.

Kakashi pulls away when he feels his fingers linger on those lips.

He quickly realizes that this is his late sensei's son. Fourteen years his junior. His student. And he clenches his fists to restrain himself from forbidden thoughts.

_God, _it's so hard to resist. Everything that Naruto does, everywhere he is; for every moment he _exists_—Kakashi is falling deeper and deeper. He looks over at Naruto and the crease between his brows, the frown on his lips when the boy feels the heat go away.

So deep.

Kakashi, before he can do anything more without his mind's consent, goes to the door that separates them.

"Good night, Naruto"

The door clicks shut.

* * *

A/N: This is will be the last of the chapters for tonight. I will most more one week from today! Meanwhile, please rate and review! I would love to hear your feedback!

And even if you didn't rate/review I'm still so appreciative to you because you took the time to read this story of mine. (Okay I'm trying to guilt trip you, but it's not really working is it?)

Good night my fellow fanfiction readers!

Mo


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